- A former BJP official in UP sparked outrage after making Islamophobic remarks urging violence against Muslims.
- Rights groups warn the comments reflect an even greater rise in impunity for Hindu nationalist figures under the Modi government.
“I will arrange the marriage of any Hindu who elopes with a Muslim girl and also arrange employment for them,” former BJP MLA Raghvendra Singh said.
Singh, a former officeholder who remains a local BJP figure, has a history of inflammatory remarks against Muslims. His latest comments have renewed concern over the growing normalisation of hate speech and anti-Muslim sentiment under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Sanjay Singh, national spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), called the remarks “a direct incitement to criminality” and urged immediate police action.
He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
“If a leader publicly urges abduction and forced conversion, the law must follow. We cannot have a double standard where the UP police file cases against Muslims on flimsy grounds but look the other way when Hindu leaders incite violence. Arrest him now or the claim that law is equal for all will ring hollow.”
He added: “Which Hindu parent would want their son to be celebrated for abducting a girl? Is this the identity we want for Hinduism — one tied to coercion and criminality?”
Legal experts and human rights advocates say the comments, if verified, could amount to criminal offences, including incitement, abduction, hate speech, and attempted forced conversion.
“Such speeches are not mere rhetoric; they endanger Muslim women and legitimise criminal acts,” said a local human rights lawyer.
“Authorities must register a case and ensure these provocations do not translate into real-world violence.”
The controversy adds to a growing list of similar statements by Hindu nationalist figures in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Several leaders have been caught on video offering money or rewards to Hindu men who “trap Muslim girls” or marry them.
Such rhetoric is often justified as retaliation against the so-called “love jihad” conspiracy theory — the false claim that Muslim men seduce Hindu women to convert them to Islam.
Activists say this has evolved into what they describe as the Bhagwa Love Trap, where Hindu nationalist networks encourage Hindu men to target Muslim women online and offline as a form of revenge or “reclamation.”
Reports suggest some groups operate through social media, allegedly training men to create fake profiles, pose as Muslims, and lure Muslim women into relationships before revealing their identities. Victims who resist are often coerced or publicly humiliated.
A report by Minority Rights Group International (MRG) describes how Muslim women in India face broader constraints in access to education, work, and raising issues of personal and political rights. Women’s rights campaigners also warn that organised harassment leads to Muslim women enduring lasting psychological and physical harm.
Critics argue the episode highlights a culture of impunity among Hindu nationalist figures in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Opposition parties and rights groups have long accused the state government of using police powers against Muslims and political dissenters while overlooking hate speech from within its own ranks.
India has seen a surge in anti-Muslim violence, hate speech, and demolitions of Muslim homes in recent years.
In 2019 New York-based ‘Human Rights Watch’ analysed the statistics of Hindu nationalist cow vigilantism in India. The 104-page report revealed that tragically, 44 Muslims had been killed, and 280 Muslims had been severely injured in more than 100 attacks between May 2015 and December 2018.
